31 May 2021
The origin of African jackals revealed – new study
Living black-backed jackal from Ethosa National Park (Namibia). Photo Israel M. Sánchez
New research published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society has found the origin of some of the most emblematic groups of African carnivorous mammals: jackals. The international group of researchers describe a new species of canid (current family that includes foxes, wolves, and jackals) named Eucyon khoikhoi, providing vital information about the origin of the group outside of North America – where the canidae family originated from more than 35 million years ago.
The name of the new species honours the heritage of the Khoikhoi (KhoeKhoen) people, who lived in the Western Cape, where this species was discovered.
“Eucyon khoikhoi marks a critical moment in the evolution of African jackals five million years ago, the moment when they began to diversify outside North America, becoming more diverse and common later in the Pleistocene era, until they culminated in the four living species on the African continent: the side-striped jackal (Schaeffia adusta), the black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas), the African golden wolf (Canis lupaster) and the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis),” shared lead author Dr Alberto Valenciano, a former researcher of the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Iziko Museums of South Africa and currently a postdoctoral palaeontologist of the “Juan de la Cierva” Program at the University of Zaragoza in Spain.
Its morphological traits suggest a direct relationship with the side-striped jackal and confirms the presence of this group more than five million years ago.
"This study also has important implications for understanding the evolution of medium- large canids outside North America, and for fossils from the Iberian Peninsula, where the oldest canid was found outside of that continent – Canis cipio from 7.5 million years ago in the Spanish localities of Concud and Cerro de la Garita. Later, it appeared along with Eucyon debonisi in the Spanish locality of Venta del Moro and Eucyon intrepidus in East Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia) six million years ago,” shared Professor Jorge Morales the from National Museum of Natural Sciences (Spain) who co-authored the paper.
The study involved researchers from the Iziko Museums of South Africa, UCT, the University of Zaragoza (Spain), the National Museum of Natural Sciences (Spain), and the Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences of Aragon (Spain). It was made possible thanks to fossils from the early Pliocene (5.2 million years ago) locality of Langebaanweg on the West Coast of South Africa.
These fossils include a well preserved, nearly complete skull, several jaws, decidual teeth (also known as milk teeth), parts of the neck, forelegs and hindlegs. They represent the largest sample of canids in Africa to date beginning with its arrival on this continent seven million years ago until 2.58 million years ago (beginning of the Pleistocene).
Future findings and discoveries will add new information on these extinct carnivores from the West Coast of South Africa. “Langebaanweg continues to shed light on the evolution of various mammal groups in Africa and improves our knowledge of these various groups as they spread through Africa,” added co-author Dr Romala Govender from UCT and the Iziko Museums of South Africa.
Access the paper: Eucyon khoikhoi sp. nov. (Carnivora, Canidae) from Langebaanweg 'E' Quarry (early Pliocene, South Africa): the most complete African canini from the Mio- Pliocene published in the Zoological Journal of Linnean Society. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab022
Pristine skull of the new species Eucyon khoikhoi from Langebaanweeg. Photo: Alberto Valenciano
Reconstruction of the flora and fauna of Langebaanweg five million years ago. Art: Maggie Newman
The co-authors of the work Dr Romala Govender and Dr Alberto Valenciano, digging in Langebaanweg in 2019. Photo: Angus Rayners Download images ENDS Issued by: UCT Communication and Marketing Department
Aamirah Sonday Media Liaison and Monitoring Officer Communication and Marketing Department University of Cape Town Rondebosch Tel: (021) 650 5427 Email: [email protected] Website: www.uct.ac.za